Robert McKinley, Senior Analyst/Editor
Robert McKinley is an analyst of the payments industry on a daily basis for 32 years covering payment cards and payment systems from both the business side and the consumer side. McKinley is the retired founder and chief executive of RAM Research, CardWeb and CardTrak. In his prior position, McKinley has participated in more than 10,000 documented news media interviews, testified as an expert witness in two separate $billion+ U.S. anti-trust trials, testified before the U.S. Congress, assisted the GAO with paymentsIMG_2006 (1).jpeg reports, chaired numerous business conferences and provided C-Suite opinion to a multitude of Fortune 500 companies. In retirement, he has continued developing and funding digital media assets as well as contributing payments related analysis/content to a broad list of online publishers, including CardFlash, CardTrak and CardData. McKinley is also a national certified mentor with the non-profit SCORE organization with a focus on assisting Fintech startups. www.robert-mckinley.com

Due to a sixth year of recession, Croatia’s number of payments cards-in-force (CIF) has remained flat at 8.5 million. However, in terms of transaction value, payment cards valued HRK116.1 billion (US$20.3 billion) in 2013, after registering a CAGR of 1.07% since 2009.

CT-based Choice Merchant Solutions has launched a new division designed to extend the benefits of international e- commerce business to domestic clients by offering affordable credit card processing services that enable U.S. businesses to compete on a global scale.

Android has the largest worldwide market share because Google lets partners adapt and expand Android with hardware and software variations. The primary challenge is to establish a center of gravity that will pull the Android value chain toward a common payment implementation.

MasterCard’s MasterPass is set to take-off in the U.S. this year. Several major merchants have committed to enable MasterPass to provide seamless, safe and secure online shopping experiences for their customers.

A new survey shows 68% of participating firms offer residents the option to pay their rent or HOA dues online. An increasing preference among Americans to manage bills online, combined with more cost-effective, easier to implement payment solutions are believed to be fueling the growth.